Around The Rink 02.12.08: Wheelin’ and Dealin’: It’s That Time Of Year

Posted by Jeremy Yoder on 02.12.2008

Around The Rink this week, a frightening play in Buffalo, the Senators and Hurricanes kick off the trade season and one of the NHL’s finest young defensemen is inked to an extension. We’ll drop in on the Eastern Conference’s Southeast Division as well as recap an exciting week in Penguins hockey.

Main Topics...

We'll start with the ugly this week. There was a scary scene last night(Sunday, as I write on Monday evening) from Buffalo where the Sabres greeted the Florida Panthers. Midway through the third period, Panthers right wing Richard Zednik suffered a severe cut to the throat from a skate blade. The skate blade was that of his team mate, Olli Jokinen. Zednik briefly fell to the ice clutching his throat, then jumped up and skated to the bench. From there, team trainers and doctors took Zednik off the ice and to a local hospital where he underwent emergency surgery and was listed in stable condition afterwards.

The game was delayed for 15 minutes while blood was cleaned from the ice. The delay gave game officials time to talk with the coaches, Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier and Senior Vice President Colin Campbell, who was in attendance to watch his son, Gregory Campbell, play for the Panthers. After conferencing, the decision was made to finish the game. That decision has since come under scrutiny from fans and players alike, though I have no issue with the decision.

Ironically enough, I played high school hockey with a kid who had this happen to him. It was during practice and it was our coach's skate that hit him in the throat. The player required, if memory serves me correct, 30 stitches to sow his neck shut. The cut missed his jugular vein by about the width of a piece of paper.

I was not in attendance for that practice. My one younger brother, however, was. He didn't seem overly shaken up by it, but definitely thought it was pretty scary. I imagine this happened on a night that I was washing dishes at the restaurant where I held my first job.

I think Zednik will be fine. I imagine he'll return to the ice as the kid that I skated with did and also as Clint Malarchuk did a number of years ago. If you've never seen footage of the Malarchuk incident, head over to YouTube and check it out. It's pretty intense. I imagine Zednik has the support of everyone, fan and player alike, and wishes him a speedy recovery. This blogger sure does.

Now on to something a lot more fun than slit throats.

Early this afternoon the news broke that a significant trade had indeed been made. With 14 days left to the trade deadline, the Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators swapped a pair of players. The Hurricanes sent veteran defensemen Mike Commodore and veteran left winger Cory Stillman to the Senators for defensemen Joe Corvo and young right winger Patrick Eaves. I found this mildly amusing because the Hurricanes acquired Patrick Eaves on my NHL '08 game for the Playstation. Anyway…

I personally feel that Ottawa got the better of this deal. The only drawback to that analysis being that I believe both Commodore and Stillman are unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. However, even if they are rent-a-players, these two players will have a huge impact on the Ottawa Senators. The league's third best team will benefit from having the size and physical presence of Mike Commodore on their blue line. Ever since losing Zdeno Chara, the Senators have really lacked a major physical force in that area. The acquisition of Commodore will not only bolster them in that area, but also in the leadership area. Commodore comes to the Senators owning a Stanley Cup ring.

Cory Stillman will be just as valuable. Stillman is a veteran winger, providing even more experience and leadership, who can put the puck in the net. He has 21 goals this year along with 25 assists for a total of 46 points. Those 46 points will make him fourth on the Senators in scoring behind the Big Three, Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza. Along with all of that, Stillman brings with him, not one, but two Stanley Cup rings. Both will be good acquisitions for the stretch run for the Senators. If the Big Three stay healthy, this team will be very tough to beat in the playoffs.


Lastly this week, one of the league's best young defensemen was locked up for the next six years in Calgary. I'm talking, of course, about Dion Phaneuf. The bone-crushing, points-scoring 22-year old signed a 6-year extension with the Flames worth an average of $6.5 million a year for a total of $39 million.

Phaneuf is an amazing talent. Standing at 6'4" tall and weighing 212lbs, Phaneuf is a physical force on the ice. What makes him amazing? Along with being a big guy capable of rattling someone's cage, Phaneuf skates very well and handles the puck very well also. Phaneuf scored 20 goals and 49 points as a rookie. His second year he didn't score as many goals, 17, but had more total points with 50. Both seasons he carried a + rating.

This was a great move for the Flames. Phaneuf is a lot of fun to watch play and can also anchor a blue line. He's a leader and will be a top defensemen in this league for a long time. When I think of how physical, yet offensively gifted, he is, I fall short in finding a comparison in today's NHL.

South Of The Playoffs

When I last reviewed the Southeast Division, I boldly predicted that the Washington Capitals would, "Be in the basement the Southeast, as well as the NHL, all year." Allow me a moment to remove my foot from my mouth. That's a little better. Today sees things much different in the Southeast.

From worst to first is truly the story of the Washington Capitals this year. When I last wrote, the Caps were the worst team in the NHL. They were 10-17-2 with 22 points. Since then, they have gotten themselves over .500 by climbing to 27-25-5 good for 59 points and first place in the Southeast. The lead is slim, but who would have thought they would be in this position? I have stated before in blogs, hopefully not for the purpose of later removing my foot from my mouth, that the Southeast will only contain one team in the playoffs. I stand by that statement and think that if the Caps want to take this run to the next level, they will need to win this division. If they weren't the division leader right now, they would be two points out of a playoff position. What has changed since last time though? Well, the young guys seem to be pulling it together. Mike Green has been playing very well on the blue line for the Caps while Nicklas Backstrom is living up to his billing with a healthy Alexander Semin putting up points as well. Oh yea, that Ovechkin guy only continues to lead the league in goal scoring with 47(a whopping eight over second place Kovalchuk), but overall points scoring with 76. AO is taking the league by storm right now and the rest of the Caps are going to follow. It will be fun for the team and the fans, but in the end this team will not be on top when the smoke clears. That being said, they will also be out of a playoff spot. I'll place them at third in this division at the end of the year. That's much better than originally projected by myself, and I would venture to say most others.

Sitting in second in this division is the team I predict will win the division, the Carolina Hurricanes. I stand by the ‘Canes and why not? They're only a point out of first with 58 points. They're actually currently tied for second with Atlanta who also has 58 points. However, they own the head-to-head record with the Thrashers right now at 2-1-1. They will play the Thrashers four more times this year, two games at home and two on the road. Those will be crucial games for the Hurricanes as many will be. I don't think the trade that they made today won't benefit their cause a whole lot. Joe Corvo is a decent defensemen, but they lost a real good, solid defensemen in Mike Commodore. Corvo skates well and moves the puck well, but the ‘Canes, at least on paper, already have good offensive defensemen. Patrick Eaves is a young winger at 23 who has scored 20 goals in a single season in the NHL. He's definitely got some talent, but I don't think he's a top six forward where I feel Stillman is. Regardless, this team will pick up their play down the stretch and win the Southeast Division making them the only representative for this division.

Sitting in third are the Atlanta Thrashers who are 27-27-4, the same record as the Hurricanes. The Thrashers were in a tie for second the last time I reported on this division. Last time it was with the Tampa Bay Lightning, this time it's with the ‘Canes. The Thrashers are an interesting team that just seem to be hanging around, but not able to really step it up. Mark Recchi seemed to find a spark for a little while, but hasn't been as hot of late. The Thrashers are tied for the second worst goals allowed in the league at 186. The defensive play has to get better. Kovalchuk is a -15, Hossa is a -14, Recchi is a -10 and Bobby Holik is a -13. That's not good at all. If this team really wants to step it up, they need to tighten up on defense. Even if that happens, it will only be good enough to put them in second in this division at the end of the year. Second in this division will not be good enough for the playoffs.

Fourth place sees the Florida Panthers at 26-27-5 with 57 points. What can you say about the Panthers? There are trade rumors swirling around team points leader, superstar and captain Ollie Jokinen. Jokinen is the only player on the roster with at least 20 goals and is absolutely they're most talented player. They just went through the incident last night in Buffalo with Zednik which could have repercussions on the team. You never know what affect that type of incident will have a team, especially a team that doesn't seem to be riding too high in the first place. The good news Florida is, you won't finish last in the division.

You might be saying to yourself right now, "Aren't the Tampa Bay Lightning in this division?" Yes they are and they're in last place. What does this mean for Lightning fans? It's fire-sale time!! I can't say that with certainty, but that sure seems to be the rumor. Guys like Dan Boyle, Vaclav Prospal, even Brad Richards, being mentioned in trade rumors. It's hard to understand what has happened to this team that is two years removed from winning a Stanley Cup. They are the second worst team in the league, second only to the LA Kings. Unfortunately, this is where they will stay. I don't see things getting any better in Tampa Bay this year and they will finish last in this division.

Weekly Pens Update

So what can I say? "It's a great day for hockey", as one famous Penguins coach put it. The Pittsburgh Penguins are flying high in the Atlantic Division, the Eastern Conference AND the entire NHL! What's most amazing is that they are doing it without the services of the best player in the NHL, Sidney Crosby.

Since I last wrote the Pens have played the Devils, Islanders, Kings and Flyers. They lost to the Devils in overtime, but have won three in a row since, including big games against divisional opponents the New York Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Including the overtime loss to the Devils, it was the Evgeni Malkin show all week long with Geno posting three goals and nine assists. Malkin has been on fire since Sid went down with 21 points in 10 games. The Pens as a team have been hot going 6-2-2 since their captain limped off the ice with a high ankle sprain in mid-January.

Malkin's efforts were good enough to have him named the NHL's second star of the week, second only to Jason Spezza of the Ottawa Senators.

Good news comes from the injury front as well. Gary Roberts has been skating lately, as has the captain, Sidney Crosby. Sid has taken part in practice, skating lightly not taking any contact. I'm not sure if Roberts has skated in practice or not. Tyler Kennedy was sent to Wilkes-Barre on what should be a brief conditioning stint after recovering from mononucleosis. Nothing is a guarantee with Therrien though. The way the team is playing right now, Kennedy may be a victim of circumstance.

One player who won't be a victim of circumstance though, is Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins young goaltender has been assigned to Wilkes-Barre Scranton for a conditioning assignment. Therrien has said Fleury will play 3-4 games in Wilkes-Barre depending on his performance. Despite what some think will and/or should happen, Fleury will be re-instated as the starting goalie for this team. Fleury won 40 games last year and played well in his first NHL playoff appearance. He had a shaky start this year, but I only see improvements in the guy. He needs to play to get better and he will.

This week, the Pens take on Boston, Carolina and Buffalo. They have a three point lead in the division, while they are three points out of first place in the Eastern Conference and the third best record in the NHL It will be another exciting week of Pens hockey!

Random Thoughts

I hate public transportation. Riding the PAT bus in the morning is a nightmare. I'm sitting in the back of the bus this morning, with my headphones on, and I can hear the drive shaft in the back of this thing about ready to explode. It sounded like an M16 rifle every time the driver would step on the gas. Frightening. Add that to the amount of times I've seen water leaking in through the roof of the bus and smelled urine on the bus and you've got yourself some fun travels.

More Next Tuesday...

I'll be back next week with another column. Please send any comments, questions, suggestions or a topic that would interest you to [e-mail].